Factbox - Response from national regulators on VW emissions tests

4 Min Read

(Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen said a scandal over falsified vehicle emission tests in the United States could affect 11 million of its cars worldwide.

Volkswagen said it would set aside 6.5 billion euros (£4.7 billion) in its third-quarter accounts to help cover the costs of the biggest scandal in its 78-year-history, blowing a hole in analysts’ profit forecasts.

Following are responses from other national regulators.

EUROPEAN UNION:

EU regulators said they were in contact with Volkswagen and U.S. authorities following the car-maker’s admission it had rigged emissions tests, and called on member states to rigorously enforce the relevant law.

GERMANY:

Germany’s transport ministry said it would send a fact-finding committee to Volkswagen this week. The committee is to speak with executives at Volkswagen’s headquarters in Wolfsburg and request access to documents, the ministry said in a statement.

FRANCE:

France has launched a probe into whether Volkswagen had also used software that deceived U.S. regulators measuring toxic emissions in some of its diesel cars in France, its environment minister said.

Segolene Royal said that she had asked the United States Environmental Protection Agency for further information about the case. She also asked French car firms to ensure that similar practices had not taken place in their companies.

ITALY:

Italy said it was concerned about whether Volkswagen had cheated in diesel vehicle emissions tests in Europe as it did in the United States and said it would open its own investigation.

Italy’s Transport Ministry said it had sent a letter to Volkswagen and the main emissions tester in Germany to ask “if the anomalies found could also have been conducted on vehicles sold and tested in the European Union”.

SWITZERLAND:

The Swiss Federal Roads Office is investigating whether the same type of Volkswagen diesel cars that were sold in the United States were also sold in Switzerland, a spokesman for the agency said, adding results were due within days.

SOUTH KOREA:

South Korea’s environment ministry said it would investigate 4,000 to 5,000 of Volkswagen’s Jetta, Golf and Audi A3 vehicles produced in 2014 and 2015, and could expand its probe to all German diesel cars if it found problems.

SPAIN:

A spokesman at industry ministry said he was not aware of any investigation. Industry Minister Jose Manuel Soria said earlier that he had yet to be given details from VW and hoped this would not affect the recently announced VW investments in Spain.

NETHERLANDS

Dutch regulator says the engines used in Netherlands are tested in Germany by the KBA (federal transport authority), which uses European-wide emissions standards. No separate tests planned by the Dutch.

SWEDEN:

The Swedish Transport Agency is not taking any immediate action as it had just finished annual emission controls. However a spokesman said it was considering extra rigorous checks on VW next year.

CZECH REPUBLIC:

A Czech transport ministry spokesman said the country was closely following the outcome of German investigations. “The problem has so far been identified only in the United States. It will be important to find out whether such vehicles are also in Europe and what course of action Germany takes.”